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mjporterauthor's review against another edition
4.0
I received a free EArc from Netgalley.
Brother's Ruin is a very quick read - more an introduction than anything to events which will follow in forthcoming books.
The story is well-paced and well-structured. The brief snatches of Victorian London that are revealed are well presented - the use of the term 'hansom' cab seems to almost be enough to conjure up the world of Holmes and Watson.
Charlotte Gunn, the main character for all the title is Brother's Ruin, is a likeable character from the word go, although she does have her little secrets, and wants nothing more than to live a normal life as a daughter and future wife of her fiancee. This seems to be impossible as she is a talented Mage, and Mage's must submit themselves to the Royal Society of Esoteric Arts and never marry or know love and so she's desperate to keep her gifts a secret. Not easy when she is capable of doing 'magic' without even thinking about it and is the cause of her brother's 'trial' with the Royal Society to see if he too is a mage. Worried about the consequences if he should fail - (this would result in the family being punished) she decides to help him and at the same time, help her father get out of debt, while at the same time discovering a magical plot which sees the moneylender being none too kind to his debtors. All in all, there's a lot going on for such a small book, and the author sets up her main character well to have influence and prestige in future adventures.
I would recommend this book to people, but I imagine, many will want Book 2 to be available immediately after reading Book 1.
Brother's Ruin is a very quick read - more an introduction than anything to events which will follow in forthcoming books.
The story is well-paced and well-structured. The brief snatches of Victorian London that are revealed are well presented - the use of the term 'hansom' cab seems to almost be enough to conjure up the world of Holmes and Watson.
Charlotte Gunn, the main character for all the title is Brother's Ruin, is a likeable character from the word go, although she does have her little secrets, and wants nothing more than to live a normal life as a daughter and future wife of her fiancee. This seems to be impossible as she is a talented Mage, and Mage's must submit themselves to the Royal Society of Esoteric Arts and never marry or know love and so she's desperate to keep her gifts a secret. Not easy when she is capable of doing 'magic' without even thinking about it and is the cause of her brother's 'trial' with the Royal Society to see if he too is a mage. Worried about the consequences if he should fail - (this would result in the family being punished) she decides to help him and at the same time, help her father get out of debt, while at the same time discovering a magical plot which sees the moneylender being none too kind to his debtors. All in all, there's a lot going on for such a small book, and the author sets up her main character well to have influence and prestige in future adventures.
I would recommend this book to people, but I imagine, many will want Book 2 to be available immediately after reading Book 1.
megadeathvsbooks's review against another edition
2.0
It was a bit too formulaic for me. I didn't see any real new depictions of magic or fantasy that engaged me.
jesslynh's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it, right up to the end that kind of...ended? IMO, although I can accept the ending, it felt too much like a novella that should be a full book. There is a lot of story left to be told.
mcf's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5
The whole thing is just stage-setting for the series, and it's hard to figure out what the world's magic is really for, apart from flash and image, but the story to which it's building up sound like it could potentially be a lot of fun.
The whole thing is just stage-setting for the series, and it's hard to figure out what the world's magic is really for, apart from flash and image, but the story to which it's building up sound like it could potentially be a lot of fun.
ebokhyllami's review
4.0
Hmmhh.. Mages og magic. Joda. Ikke verst start på denne tredje serien jeg leser fra Newman dette.
raven_morgan's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great introduction to a new series from Emma Newman. The magic system is fascinating, and the characters compelling. My only complaint is that it clearly reads as the first act of a larger work, not as a self-contained novella.
sydwalker's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
justiceofkalr's review
3.0
I really liked this, but it did feel like a prequel rather than a story in its own right.
clauleesi's review against another edition
1.0
Even though the premise sounded absolutely amazing, I found 'Brother's Ruin' to be extremely bland and unimpressive - in short, this was a huge disappointment, especially as this was published by Tor, which otherwise only puts out wonderful books.
Very negative review up ahead, y'all.
At the back of this book, we're promised magicians in a steampunk setting and are then basically told things that happen in the last parts of the book. Not only that, but everything sounded both way cooler in the synopsis and we were also told things that didn't really happen at all. What is the sinister plot that Charlotte discovers? How is she protecting her city? We simply got promised way more than what we got.
As for Charlotte, I couldn't find myself caring for her at all - she was a dull shell, that had no real personality traits or anything that made her unique and interesting, we were just supposed to accept that she was. To be honest, I didn't care about anything in this book.
The magic system was bloody useless as it was not explained at all. The characters were ridiculous and infuriating and had no real personalities whatsoever. Ending was expected, writing was like that of a childish fanfic, and the only positive thing I can think of was that I flew through it - which isn't too grand as it was only a short novella. Now I'm just happy to be done with it so that I can continue on to something that won't be like a chicken without any fucking seasoning that then claims to be delicious, proper, flavoured food.
Nope, this definitely wasn't for me.
Very negative review up ahead, y'all.
At the back of this book, we're promised magicians in a steampunk setting and are then basically told things that happen in the last parts of the book. Not only that, but everything sounded both way cooler in the synopsis and we were also told things that didn't really happen at all. What is the sinister plot that Charlotte discovers? How is she protecting her city? We simply got promised way more than what we got.
As for Charlotte, I couldn't find myself caring for her at all - she was a dull shell, that had no real personality traits or anything that made her unique and interesting, we were just supposed to accept that she was. To be honest, I didn't care about anything in this book.
The magic system was bloody useless as it was not explained at all. The characters were ridiculous and infuriating and had no real personalities whatsoever. Ending was expected, writing was like that of a childish fanfic, and the only positive thing I can think of was that I flew through it - which isn't too grand as it was only a short novella. Now I'm just happy to be done with it so that I can continue on to something that won't be like a chicken without any fucking seasoning that then claims to be delicious, proper, flavoured food.
Nope, this definitely wasn't for me.